A 28-year-old Indian-origin truck driver accused of causing a deadly crash in Florida failed his commercial driver’s licence (CDL) test ten times before obtaining it, US officials have revealed. The case of Harjinder Singh, who has been living illegally in the United States since 2018, has reignited a national debate over the issuing of CDLs to undocumented immigrants .
Failed 10 times, still got a licence
According to a senior official from the Florida Attorney General’s Office quoted by news agency AP, Singh failed his CDL written test ten times in Washington state between March and April 2023 before being granted a licence. He later obtained another CDL in California, where rules allow some out-of-state drivers to skip road tests.
Also read: 100,000 Sikh truckers in America in hot seat after twin crashes draw scrutiny
At the time of the fatal crash, Singh held a valid California CDL. Officials said he had entered the US illegally through the southern border in 2018 and was later released on bond after claiming fear of returning to India.
Florida investigators allege Singh made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce on August 12, causing a minivan to crash into his truck. Three people were killed in the impact. Singh and his passenger escaped unharmed. He is now in custody without bond, facing three counts of vehicular homicide , with his next court hearing scheduled for November 13.
A post-crash evaluation by the US Department of Transportation found that Singh could answer only two out of twelve English-language questions correctly and could identify just one of four road signs.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the incident “a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures.” He accused states like California of turning “the trucking industry into a lawless frontier” through “radical immigration policies.”
Florida pushes Supreme Court case against immigrant licences
Florida has petitioned the US Supreme Court to bar states such as California and Washington from issuing CDLs to people who are not US citizens or permanent residents. The state argues that such policies “defy federal immigration laws” and pose a serious threat to public safety.
The White House echoed those concerns, blaming California’s “sanctuary state” policies for endangering lives. “Instead of acknowledging the tragedy, criminal illegal alien sympathiser Gavin Newsom callously doubled down,” a White House statement said.
Governor Newsom’s office responded that Singh entered the US in 2018 when Donald Trump was president, not after he took office in 2019.
Second deadly crash intensifies scrutiny
The debate deepened after another Indian-origin driver, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, was arrested this week for a separate crash in California that killed three people. Authorities said he was under the influence of drugs and entered the US illegally in 2022.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the two cases highlight a “disturbing pattern” of unqualified, undocumented drivers obtaining commercial licences. The Department of Transportation has since tightened rules, requiring states to verify immigration status through federal databases.
The new SAFE Drivers Act will restrict truck driver testing to English only and revoke licences issued to undocumented immigrants, as the Trump administration pushes for stricter enforcement across all states.
Failed 10 times, still got a licence
According to a senior official from the Florida Attorney General’s Office quoted by news agency AP, Singh failed his CDL written test ten times in Washington state between March and April 2023 before being granted a licence. He later obtained another CDL in California, where rules allow some out-of-state drivers to skip road tests.
Also read: 100,000 Sikh truckers in America in hot seat after twin crashes draw scrutiny
At the time of the fatal crash, Singh held a valid California CDL. Officials said he had entered the US illegally through the southern border in 2018 and was later released on bond after claiming fear of returning to India.
Florida investigators allege Singh made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce on August 12, causing a minivan to crash into his truck. Three people were killed in the impact. Singh and his passenger escaped unharmed. He is now in custody without bond, facing three counts of vehicular homicide , with his next court hearing scheduled for November 13.
A post-crash evaluation by the US Department of Transportation found that Singh could answer only two out of twelve English-language questions correctly and could identify just one of four road signs.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the incident “a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures.” He accused states like California of turning “the trucking industry into a lawless frontier” through “radical immigration policies.”
Florida pushes Supreme Court case against immigrant licences
Florida has petitioned the US Supreme Court to bar states such as California and Washington from issuing CDLs to people who are not US citizens or permanent residents. The state argues that such policies “defy federal immigration laws” and pose a serious threat to public safety.
The White House echoed those concerns, blaming California’s “sanctuary state” policies for endangering lives. “Instead of acknowledging the tragedy, criminal illegal alien sympathiser Gavin Newsom callously doubled down,” a White House statement said.
Governor Newsom’s office responded that Singh entered the US in 2018 when Donald Trump was president, not after he took office in 2019.
Second deadly crash intensifies scrutiny
The debate deepened after another Indian-origin driver, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, was arrested this week for a separate crash in California that killed three people. Authorities said he was under the influence of drugs and entered the US illegally in 2022.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the two cases highlight a “disturbing pattern” of unqualified, undocumented drivers obtaining commercial licences. The Department of Transportation has since tightened rules, requiring states to verify immigration status through federal databases.
The new SAFE Drivers Act will restrict truck driver testing to English only and revoke licences issued to undocumented immigrants, as the Trump administration pushes for stricter enforcement across all states.
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